[clearerview]

hi

can anyone give me some advise on pricing curtain cleaning?
I am also interested in curtain cleaning methods if anyone can help would be most grateful.

Cheers Clive

[John_Flynn]

I have had my first request to clean some curtains today in 6 years of trading, I personally do not feel that a good job can be obtained by HWE, as the above please advise and prove me wrong, the curtains  I was asked to clean cost in the region of £2500.00 lots of drapes and fancy pelmets.

[stevegunn]

I have also only been asked once about curtain cleaning it was a pub who had been quoted £250 to remove,clean and rehang the curtains.No i did not take the job on.

[Len Gribble]

Clive

Only done it once my own never again a right pain in the bum.

Steve

You don’t say that you took the job on and under cut them; if you did I hope you applied flame retardant afterwards if not go back and offer a free clean and apply F/R I think you will find that it’s obligatory in public places and possibly in fully/part furnished letting accommodations.

Len

[John_Flynn]

Did not mention in my above post that the client has had the curtains cleaned twice before by Chemdry and Rainbow niether time was she happy with the result, so this time she decided to call in a Professional and was happy when I told her that in my mind the curtains could not be successfullly cleaned whilst still hanging.

Still waiting to be proven wrong. : : : :

[Dave Parry]

I did quite a bit of curtain cleaning last year, but trying not to do any this year. The reason is not that there is any problem doing them, its just that I now have to take lots off the van to get my ninja on. More hassle than its worth.
However, you cannot hwe most curtains. If they are lined, (and most good curtains are) you have to dry clean them. This is best done in situ, there is no risk of shrinkage, which there would be with hwe, and some customers like to have them and carpets done at the same time. I used to find a standard width, full length curtain, took about 5 L of solvent. and that you lost about 1/3 of it. I filtered the used solvent so keeping costs down. my price for a full length pair was £ 65   with  ½ length at £ 35. Adjusted for longer widths. It was good money, and if I had a bigger van I would still do them.

[Len Gribble]

John

No argument from me how ever if the customer is happy so be it!

Dave having a t/m in a Del boys van you are pushing it to the limits what you and I need is an artic parking no problem push them out of the way who will argue?

Len

[Dave Parry]

Your right Len, going round corners is the dodgy bit, with a full tank of water, I have to lean out the door, sidecar fashion. Save when it comes to buying tyres though, only have to buy 3 not 4.

[John_Flynn]

Hey Dave

3 tyres instead of 4, doesn't Plastic Pigs carry a spare??

[Dave_Lee]

Curtains! Forget it. Hassle yes. Lovely SUN rots the
b-----s, honest cleaner, strong suction, a little moisture - and WOW! - All gone to shreads. - NO THANKS.
Dave.

[Len Gribble]

Dave

A man after my own hart, why buy 4 when 3 will do.

Are you going to Croydon on 19th May?

Len

[Jim_Lynch]

I gave up cleaning curtains well over ten years ago, although I still have the capability.

The use of water based cleaning agents should be avoided because of the potential for shrinkage. OMS is the most commonly used agent, and you will need a solvent capable extractor. I have a couple of Kleenrite machines, and I believe US Products make a similar unit.

Cleaning curtains is not a particularly pleasant task, as you are generally operating above shoulder height, and inevitably the OMS will run down your arm, causing burns, even with the use of gloves.

You will also come up against sun damaged curtains, which can fall apart during cleaning.

As solvents and water don't mix, unless you have a dedicated extractor, you will need to flush the machine after use......a PITA exercise.

I never made any money cleaning curtains...most aren't prepared to pay the money you will need to make it worthwhile. But, I guess someone out there will make a profit from it.

I hope that helps, Clive.

Cheers,

Jim

[John_Flynn]

Thank you for your replies, I knew I had made the right decision, I am not the type to go buying problems.

[clearerview]

thankyou for your help gents

Clive

[Kevin_Gare]

Hi Guys
Done a bit of curtain cleaning.......More Hassle really.
But as Len said the add on's are on the plus side.

Find yourself a good local dry cleaners, do a deal with him that he gets all your curtains then when you take them back tell the customer that they should be flame protected. Also you can leave some of your cards with the dry cleaner for the carpet cleaning. I do this with about Six dry cleaners.FREE advertising. And you will pick up more carpet cleaning ,but how many times do you get asked about curtain cleaning anyway. You win everytime.

Kevin

[woodman]

Hi Guys

I have read this thread with great interest and I can fully understand how many do not want to get involved in curtain cleaning insitu BUT.

I believe that this is a very good revenue stream that is not fully exploited by many of us simply due to the fact that it is very rare that some of us are asked to carry out this type of work.

Obviously you can not do any thing about sun damage and the pre-inspection and pre-understanding with the customer will qualify what results can be expected but you can advise the client on how to get round unsightly bleaching and brittle fabric and improve the appearance to the eye.

I have cleaned untold amounts of curtains at the window and the results will be exactly the same if not better than your local dry cleaners with out using solvent machinery or HWE.

I fully agree that a good relationship with a good dry cleaners/laundry agents is a must if you are to do a lot of this type of work for the occasions when your clients do want the curtains removed and when it is necessary to apply Flame Retardants.My dry cleaners will collect ,clean and return the curtains when I need them to.

Any one in my area who has an enquiry and is worried about carrying out the clean contact me and I will show you how to go about it and if necessary when to turn down a clean with out offending the client.

Any one else that just  does not want the work,, send it to me

[Dynafoam]

Hi Trevor,

Like yourself, I have been sitting on the side of this topic, having posted several times in the past on curtain cleaning.

Over the years I have cleaned acreas of curtain, from large theatre curtains down to domestics and agree they can be very profitable.

I did once have some concern over a very expensive set that after 20 minutes suddenly became about 3" shorter. The customer became as visibly alarmed as I felt inside, but I calmly and apparently confidently, told her that they would return to their orriginal length when fully dry and the fibres relaxed. ----- And I was right (phew). Sisal warp yarns can give rise to heart attacks !!!

The reason that I only do them when asked is that do not like the job - especially where elaborate swags and tails are held by dressmaking pins that fall out when touched.

John.

[Derek]

Hi

Like John I have stayed out of this debate to see how it develops...

For years I didn't clean curtains having cleaned some many years ago using the Prochem Model 20A dry solvent machine.... results were always disappointing however hard I tried.

Then I recommended the clients take the curtains to a local dry cleaner and I even suggested a couple of good ones for them to try.

Then three years ago I experimented and started to clean curtains again using steam.  I get a far better job than the dry solvent methods and they dry very quickly too.
No shrinkage to date, rather the opposite if anything.

Derek

[Len Gribble]

Derek

Out of interest what steam system do you use?

Len

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Derek why don't you do a training day for curtain cleaning and you can pocket the revenue!

Serious as I am I feel we are losing out on a potentially profitable service and if Derek can train us properly (and get paid for his time) we all could benefit and prosper.

Come on Derek

I'd pay

Shaun